Day 3 - heading up Rio Negro

Today was supposed to be a quieter day, which it was, but there was also plenty of excitement. We started the day by going to the meeting of the waters where Rio Solimoes and Rio Negro meet. Together the swirling of the brown water (which the locals call white water) containing silt from the Andes Mountains with the nutrient poor black waters looks like stirring milk into coffee.  We also saw many other boats including the passenger boats traveling along the amazon which locals take and bring their own hammocks. Our guide said it was 350 reales pp for hammock space and 400pp for a room.

Next we passed the port of Manaus where we saw many container boats and river boats. The numerous floating gas stations were also interesting. We also saw a cruise ship docked at the port.

When we arrived at Tropical Manaus, we headed to the seaplane dock where we went for a 30min flight over the meeting of the waters and Manaus (1400 reales split among 4 people). The flight was awesome. I rode up front with the pilot. I took a number of pictures and some video. I did end up getting a bit nauseated but that was due to the humid heat in the little plane and the sharp turns he took. The view however was great. I especially liked the view of the tributaries and the meeting of the rivers. We were able to see all the way to where the rivers combine to form Rio Amazonas.

Meeting of the waters

Where the rivers meet and form Rio Amazonas

After our flight, we returned to our boat where 7 additional people had joined our number - now up to 20 + 10 crew and 2 guides - and we headed up the Rio Negro which is an entirely separate ecosystem from Rio Solimoes. We were told that the water would be still like glass and the flora would be completely different. We headed up to the first tributary - Rio Cuieiras - and docked there for dinner.

After dinner we went on a night canoe trip. The water here is truly amazing. The water is still like a mirror reflecting the trees and sky above. My friend said it looked like polished onyx at night. We saw several snakes, two frogs including a poisonous one, night hawks including two baby ones our guide Hugo picked up.  He said he saw a large rodent but we didn't see it. The sounds at night were also different with a chorus of frogs and the occasional howler monkey in the mix. The scenery was truly magnificent.

Day 2 - absolutely amazing Amazon

Today was our first full day and it began super early at 5:30 for wake up. The weather was fabulous so we took the canoe out for bird watching. 

Sunrise

Canoe view

We saw so many birds including my favorite bird which is brown/red with light green tipped wings. It may be a kingfisher but not sure. We saw all sorts of hawks and herons, ospreys and egrets, hoitzins and parrots... We saw a lizard in a tree, 3 toed sloth, squirrel monkey, another monkey - maybe howler, caiman and more. It was a great trip and we didn't get stuck in the waterways. I also really like the trees with intricate roots and the curtain of vines from some trees. 

3-toed sloth

After our early morning trip we came back for breakfast and then headed out to visit a nearby village. It had a population of 200-300 and was the largest village in the area with a school that serves neighboring villages. We saw the kids taking the school boat. The town appeared mostly primitive but most people did have a satellite dish. We learned about many plants including a pod like cacao that makes a great refreshing drink (which we tried later) and supposedly great ice cream. We also visited Anna`s house where we learned more about the village people and met her dogs and Amazonian parrot. Along the way we saw festive parrots and a Scarlet macaw.

Festive Parrots

Amazon Parrot

After this was a great lunch and some free time. I spent some time chilling in the jacuzzi - literally the jacuzzi water was cold compared to the air and felt nice and cooling though the water was river water and silty brown. 

Later in the afternoon we went piranha fishing in Janauca lake. We used bull hearts as bait. It took me a while and one broken line to figure it out but I finally caught a piranha. Fortunately the boat staff took it off the line for me. The ride back was majestic. The lake was peaceful and serene. The sun was no longer beating down on us and the breeze was refreshing. The sunset was stunning.

Fishing spot

After dinner (no fish because while one of our cooks was trying to clean the piranhas she was injured) we went out for a night canoe trip. The lake was beautiful by moonlight.  We saw a bunch of caimans - big ones, baby ones, and Hugo even caught a couple to show us. We saw a 3 toed sloth again, some nighthawks, a lizard in a tree and heard awesome night jungle noises - a chorus of frogs and cicadas with birds and crickets chirping in.  The ride was very enjoyable and not at all scary, except for when we thought Hugo was going to get bitten by a caiman.

Sunset

Caiman

Day 1 on the Amazon Clipper

To our surprise, we were greeted by our boat crew at the hotel lobby and informed that we were being upgraded to premium from the traditional class. This was a great start to our trip! We boarded our boat with our welcome passion fruit drinks and saw the luxurious boat we weren't expecting. Hugo our tour guide have us a briefing and assigned us to our cabins. We have a lovely room on the first floor with a fantastic view from the window.

Premium by Amazon Clipper

Our guide - Hugo

I quickly found my favorite spot on the boat after they served us some yummy welcome soup.  The boat is 4 floors with cabins on the lower 2, the dining area on the second floor, the bar and outdoor Jacuzzis (yup there are Jacuzzis) on the third floor and a sundeck on the fourth floor. My favorite spot is on the stern on the top floor where I have an amazing view with the wind in my hair. It's also peaceful and quiet up there. Great for star gazing too.

We left for our first excursion after our boat passed from the black waters of Rio Negro to the silty brown waters of Rio Solimoes. We initially docked at a small fishing village and walked along a wooden walkway to Victoria Regia where the giant water lilies live. Along the way we saw some bare eared squirrel monkeys 

bare-eared squirrel monkey

and some red howler monkeys as well as a trogon bird which Hugo called the quetzel of the Amazon. The lilies were all pink which apparently means they've changed from their original white when they were female into their pink male form. 

giant water lilies

We saw a number of birds there too. Can't remember all their names. They we rode a motorized canoe along the narrow passages through the riverway. 

I joked with members of the boat that it was just like the Jurassic park ride at universal without the catastrophes. Little did I know...

Along the way we saw howler monkeys and a black chested hawk along with more giant lilies. Our adventure was when we tried to pass a waterway that was far too narrow for our boat. 

Fortunately we were rescued by a couple guys on a canoe. We congratulated ourselves on overcoming our obstacle and continued on, until our next obstacle. This time no one was around to help. Both our guide and driver had to get out of the boat into sometimes chest high waters to move us forward. This was slow going and the sun quickly set. We tried to help by rocking the boat, pushing and pulling on the logs and weeds along the water, and by rearranging ourselves on the boat. After an hour of arduous maneuvering we finally got free and back to our boat. What an adventure!!

We finished the evening with capairinas and a yummy dinner of the second largest freshwater fish - piraiba - giant catfish. We turned in early for a 5:30 wakeup.

The zoo at Tropical Manaus Ecoresort

The zoo at our hotel was really incredible. There were 22 species in total including jaguar, ocelot - a smaller cat, cabybara - world's largest rodent, cayman, 4 types of monkeys - red howler, brown Capuchin, bare eared squirrel, white belly spider, Scarlet macaw, parrot, tiger heron, collared peccory, little chachalaca, blue and yellow macaw and a couple others. What was even more amazing was that we saw 2 varieties of monkeys outside the cages too. There was a biologist who guided a tour in Portuguese. A nice young girl translated for us into English. The tour was fantastic and the zoo was super well kept. In fact it's even supported by ibama - the local animal protection agency.  We were really impressed by the whole place, especially since it was a hotel zoo.

Jaguar - rescued from someone's home (they were keeping it as a pet)

Capybara - largest rodents in the world

White belly Spider Monkey

Brown Capuchin monkey

Bare-eared squirel monkeys

blue and yellow macaw